{"id":161362,"date":"2025-11-26T21:36:07","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T21:36:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/161362\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T21:36:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T21:36:07","slug":"ranelagh-residents-react-to-legal-challenge-on-metrolink-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/161362\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranelagh residents react to legal challenge on MetroLink \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

If the residents of Dartmouth Square in Ranelagh<\/a>, South Dublin, were troubled by the national attention they have drawn upon themselves with their last-minute legal challenge to the MetroLink<\/a> rail project, there was little indication on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

On Monday, 19 residents of Dartmouth Square West, close to the planned Charlemont terminus, and one company owned by a resident, submitted a High Court challenge<\/a> aimed at overturning An Comisi\u00fan Plean\u00e1la<\/a>\u2019s approval of the rail project.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, a handful of those residents behind the legal challenge, whose back gardens would face the proposed Charlemont stop<\/a>, answered their doors but politely declined to talk about MetroLink. <\/p>\n

Those living on other sides of the square who did speak were sympathetic to their neighbours\u2019 action. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think they\u2019re very brave, and I think they have right on their side,\u201d said a resident of Dartmouth Square North who asked not to be named and who had attended the planning hearings last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not surprised they are going to court, but it is going to be very costly. I hope people are prepared for that and for what\u2019s ahead.\u201d <\/p>\n

She said she was not opposed to the MetroLink but believes the area is not suitable as a terminus for the line. \u201cIt\u2019s in the wrong location. This is a purely residential area. It doesn\u2019t have a space for a hub like this. I can\u2019t imagine how that number of people are going to be accommodated in these narrow streets.\u201d <\/p>\n

A city centre location would be more appropriate for a terminus, she said. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not a personal issue, it\u2019s a broader issue about what\u2019s right for Dublin. The central area, at St Stephen\u2019s Green, or O\u2019Connell Street \u2013 which was become a very sad street indeed for our main street \u2013 would be more appropriate. It could provide a central focus that O\u2019Connell Street needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Transport Minister says MetroLink plans could be derailed for two yearsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

On the opposite side of the square, another resident, who declined to give her name, said those taking the legal challenge had been left with no other option.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it [MetroLink] is going to have a detrimental effect on these Victorian little roads along here. I think the area is totally unsuitable. You know, all these houses have preservation orders, and especially those houses on Dartmouth Square West, are going to be very badly affected, so what other option have they got at this stage?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe infrastructure here is not suitable, there isn\u2019t any place for set downs, or parking or anything like that \u2013 unless everybody\u2019s going to come on foot, which I can\u2019t see happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Locals living close to, but not on, Dartmouth Square were more candid, and positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband and I both think [the station] is an excellent idea,\u201d Autumn Dempsey, who lives just off Ranelagh Road, said. \u201cIt\u2019s a long time coming. We need access to the airport, we need better public transportation. It would be great for us because we live so nearby.\u201d <\/p>\n

However, she said she would like to see some mechanism of addressing the residents\u2019 issues. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure everybody\u2019s concerns have been addressed but it\u2019s unfortunate that just a handful of people could cause a delay. I have to say though, based on living in the area for the last 10 years, I\u2019m not surprised there was a legal challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr Frank Darcy, who lives locally but whose daughter lives on Dartmouth Square, said he believed the line should terminate at St Stephen\u2019s Green. \u201cThis area is not suitable for such huge volume of traffic that will be coming through, especially cars but even pedestrians.\u201d His family were not involved in the judicial review, but in relation to those taking the action he said: \u201cI\u2019m delighted they are having a go.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If the residents of Dartmouth Square in Ranelagh, South Dublin, were troubled by the national attention they have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":161363,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,29093,43,40695],"class_list":{"0":"post-161362","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-metrolink","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-ranelagh"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}